What would you do if you didn’t work in healthcare?
Write for SNL Weekend Update or travel or perform with The Groundlings (Improv).
Can you give a shout-out to someone who helped you at a pivotal time in your career?
Tracy Donaldson and Mary Hanrahan — two women I reported to from another lifetime ago who were excellent mentors and leaders.
How has the pandemic reset the rules on your work-life balance?
Less travel but more time in my seat — requiring me to set clearer boundaries about when my work day starts and ends. We are all trying to stay as healthy as possible, walking and running for charity and moving our bodies as much as possible despite not commuting, walking, flying. More time home with family has been incredible, as has our ability to stay connected as an organization virtually. Creating a culture with a virtual workforce means you have to prioritize what’s truly important above all else.
Share a moment when you left your comfort zone; what did you learn?
Against my own better judgment, I wore a dress to my sister’s wedding … instead of opting for my Ellen DeGeneres best. If you can show up every day as your authentic self, you’ll always be a million times more comfortable, confident, approachable and relatable.
What do you find frustrating about working in healthcare marketing?
Most of our clients do want to try out new, innovative solutions to help personalize messaging to engage the audiences that matter. We can’t move as quickly in healthcare to adopt some of the tactics that other verticals have been using forever, who don’t have the same legal review process as a HIPAA compliant deliverable might. It’s also what I love about healthcare marketing at the same time — it’s still the wild wild west when you can be a pioneer and get different products through privacy approval for the very first time. Once you break through, the entire organization benefits from it, across multiple therapeutic areas. It’s an incredible feeling.
What are you doing to send the career ladder back down?
Mentorship is incredibly important to me. I belong to several organizations that allow me to work with college kids about to enter the workforce, helping them to prepare for interviews and helping them to network. We do a lot of career education and continuing education and training at TI Health, to help our employees grow in their roles and grow into other positions and other disciplines of interest. Putting people to work in areas they are passionate about means people will stick around longer, and we see better work quality from people who are truly invested in the work they are doing on a deeper level.
What’s something your colleagues don’t know about you?
I was in a college a capella group and will never turn down an evening of karaoke.
What is one thing you would tell young women starting their careers in healthcare marketing?
There is no such thing as the wrong career move, only an opportunity to learn valuable lessons if we’re open to receiving them.
Recount an experience with the healthcare system, positive or negative, that inspires you.
When I was 16, I was a volunteer EMT in my town in New Jersey while still in high school. My crew responded to a car accident, where I was the only person who was short enough to crawl into the back seat of the car to stabilize someone who had been seriously injured. I felt like a superhero, being able to leap into action. I knew then that I wanted to work in healthcare. I use data (instead of the Jaws of Life) to help patients and providers connect to the right therapy at the right time.
Favorite TV show/movie/song/book?
Six Feet Under is one of the best TV shows of all time. Huge fan of Pamela Adlon and her show Better Things, which I hope never ends.
